2 Corinthians 12:1-10
12:1 I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— 4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. 6 Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
There are certain phrases we use that if used correctly, absolve us from responsibility. For instance, “I’m not one to brag, but I do make a mean chili.” “She just doesn’t have a chance; bless her heart.” By saying these things we can get away with all the gossip, arrogance, and pride in the world. By putting on heirs of false humility, we can pretend to be disinterested, disengaged, or apathetic to the cause at hand. However, this false modesty is not the way of the cross or of the Christ we follow.
Paul illustrates this for us by not starting out with humility, but with a claim to more pride, more pleasure, and more boasting. But Paul’s boasting is not in the flesh of himself, of another, or of anyone else. Paul boasts because he is weak.
“Oh how happy I am that I am a loser.”
In God’s economy, the losers win. The downtrodden, the despaired, and the depressed are the ones who receive the call. It is not the individual that brings salvation. It is not your work and my work, or even our work combined. But the Lord said to Paul, and the Lord says to us, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
We are weak. We are weary. We are losers. Thanks be to God!!! How will you boast in your weakness today?
Prayer: God of the weak and the strong, make us strong in our weakness so we may boast in you and you alone. Amen.
G. Thomas Martin
